You’re trying to gain a foothold for your small business and you’re constantly on the lookout for ways to grow your tiny company without breaking your budget. Or maybe you’re a manager within a larger organization, and you’re trying to tackle a huge temporary workload or survive an especially demanding business cycle. In both cases, you need more people, and you need them right away. But you may not need them for long. And you can’t afford to pay premiums for specialized training or advanced degrees. What should you do?

The Benefits of Paid Internships

Offering paid internships to local students may be an excellent way to advance your business interests by entering into a fair and aboveboard agreement based on mutual gain. Students need course credit. They also need skills and practical experience within their chosen field if they hope to land a job after graduation. Just a few months in a real-world workplace can give them a credential that can help them impress employers in the future, and course credit can help them control costs as they complete their degree programs.

Offering an internship is neither complicated nor expensive. Simply reach out to a local community college or university employment office and find out what steps are necessary to ensure that your future intern obtains the credit she’ll be earning while working for your business. The internship coordinator who handles your arrangement will probably suggest potential candidates and offer screening tips that can help you find an employee with the skills and ambitions you need.

Payment is Non-Negotiable

As you launch your search for a temporary intern, remember: payment is a non-negotiable part of this arrangement. You must pay your intern at least the minimum hourly wage as established by state and federal law. Even if an intern expresses a willingness to potentially work for free, do not ever take on any employee without offering payment for all work conducted on behalf of your business. Unpaid internships expose you to countless and easily avoidable legal, PR, and ethical problems. A company that can’t pay its workers should not be in business, and probably won’t be for long.

Managing an Intern

As you bring your intern on board, make sure both of you fully understand the goals of your agreement, and conduct frequent check-ins to ensure that both parties are getting what they need from the experience. Be clear with your intern about your instructions and expectations, and listen carefully to make sure she’s gaining the level of experience and responsibility she bargained for. If disputes arise during her tenure, enlist the help of the internship coordinator for third party input. Keep your expectations reasonable, but at the same time, don’t let your intern struggle with a steep learning curve or pattern of expensive mistakes that actually hold your company back.

For more guidance on the recruiting, hiring, and training of interns, reach out to the staffing pros at Expert. We can help you find the ambitious and talented temporary help you need to drive your business forward.